Blue Violet

chapter 25



The next three days passed in a blur. Hugh hadn’t been kidding when he told Ellie it would take some time for her to recover. Her body felt like lead, and when she shifted position, every single part of her screamed in agony. She spent most of the time drifting in and out of consciousness. From her few lucid moments, she gathered Griffin had helped move everyone into their house. Hugh and Lucy were staying in Griffin’s room, and he was sleeping in Ellie’s spare bed.

Lila, Adelaide, and Nate had continued to attend school as usual, but they made excuses for Ellie. Bronchitis, they said. No one questioned it. In fact, no one in the outside world noticed anything different about their lives at all…

When Ellie managed to open her eyes, even if only for a few minutes, Alex was always right there beside her. Sometimes he’d be sleeping in the chair next to her bed. Sometimes he’d be reading a book. Every so often she’d open her eyes to find him just looking at her. And each time she woke up, he immediately seemed to know. He’d come over and brush her hair back from her face and give her a tender smile, asking, “Hi, angel, how are you feeling?”

More often than not, she’d drift back to sleep without answering, unaware of the small smile which always graced her lips. Finally, after three straight days of deep sleep, she woke up feeling completely refreshed and rejuvenated.

Alex opened his eyes as she sat up. He unfolded his body, lowering his propped up feet to the floor and uncrossing his arms to lean forward.

“Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?” he teased.

“Mmmm…” Ellie yawned and stretched her arms above her head. “How long have I been out?” she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Three days.”

“Wow! Really?”

“Really. I have a crick in my neck to show for it.” He massaged the back of shoulders to prove his point and then gave her a wink.

Ellie played with the tasseled edges of the blanket, unable to meet his questioning gaze. A lot had happened between them over the last few days, not the least of which was her discovery that they were te’sorthene. But they hadn’t talked about any of it yet. And while she knew what they were—every instinct inside her screamed this undeniable truth—she had no idea if he realized it yet. He seemed to care, but he could’ve been waiting all this time for her to wake up so that he could yell at her about all her lies.

“Hey,” he whispered as he reached out and tipped her chin toward him. “What’re you thinking about?”

Ellie gave him a candid look. “Why aren’t you mad at me?”

Alex’s mouth twisted into something between a grin and a grimace. “I’m furious with you, Ellie. I asked you point blank, and you looked me straight in the eyes and lied about who you were.”

“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything,” she insisted. A fine line, but an important one in her mind. She bit her lip, hiding the fact that her eyes had filled up with tears.

“Hmmm… Well, I wish that you would have just trusted me,” he continued.

Ellie nodded, still not looking at him.

“But you showed me why you did what you did. And your reasons were good ones.”

Ellie nodded faster.

“In fact, they were the same reasons I had when I suddenly stopped running with you,” he told her quietly.

Ellie glanced up, surprised. “I thought you…” She trailed off, unable to continue.

“You thought that I no longer wanted to be friends? That I didn’t care?”

Ellie shrugged and bit her lip.

Alex gazed deeply into her eyes, as if he could communicate with her soul. Running one finger softly down the side of her face, he murmured, “Te’sorthene.”

His voice was so tender, so quiet, she almost didn’t hear him. But she did, and her heart felt like it stopped beating and exploded into a crazy rhythm all at once. She gasped.

Alex gave her a small smile. “You know this word?”

Ellie licked her lips, stopping when she saw how his eyes were drawn to the motion. “I thought only people from my clan knew that word.”

“I don’t know where it originated, but I know what it stands for.” He picked up her hand in his and started drawing concentric circles on her palm with the tip of his finger. “I know, for instance, that it refers to a fated bond between two people like us--”

“Svatura,” Ellie murmured.

He glanced up, stopping the hypnotic motions with her hand. “Yeah... I know that it’s supposed to be rare. And that every… Svatura… seeks the other half of their te’sorthene bond.”

Ellie cleared her throat. “It happened a lot in my clan because there were so many of us.”

“So you’ve witnessed it firsthand?”

“Yes. My grandparents, my parents, among others.”

“I’ve also seen it. My grandparents, too… and of course several couples in my new family. Which is why I can’t believe that I didn’t recognize it when I saw it again… with us.” Alex searched Ellie’s eyes. “We’ve had so much unsaid between us, so I want to be very clear now. We are te’sorthene, Ellie.”

Ellie gave Alex a sparkling smile, almost glowing with her delight. “I know.” Happiness burst through her, but she forced herself to remain calm, composed. Although inside she felt anything but calm and composed.

Alex released a rush of breath, his hand tightening on hers. “You know?”

“Uh-huh. I knew when I crashed my car. And I couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out sooner… I knew I felt a connection between us. And, unlike you, I knew we were both Svatura.” Ellie shook her head at her ignorance. Licking her bottom lip again in her nervousness, she glanced back up to catch him staring at the small movement. “How…” she cleared her throat again. “How do you feel about it?”

Alex seemed to have to drag his eyes away from her mouth. “How do I feel? I’m over the moon, you crazy girl! And I should also warn you that if you keep licking those delectable lips, I’m going to have to kiss them. Right now.”

Ellie gulped as her breath caught in her throat. She glanced away and shook her head. Obviously she wasn’t totally healed because now she was hallucinating…she had to be.

“I know we barely know each other, and this isn’t exactly the most romantic setting, and we still have a lot of getting to know each other to do,” Alex continued. “But I should’ve known exactly what we were the first time we met. Like you, I felt that connection. An undeniable pull to be with you. And heaven knows I fought it. You were supposed to be a normal girl. Too young… too... well, let’s just say too a lot of things. And then I didn’t know who or what you were, or if I could trust you.”

Ellie closed her eyes, trying to block out his painful words.

“…But you kept showing me your heart, over and over. I discovered that you are a kind, loyal, generous, and brave. You are so damned incredible.” He shrugged and his voice cracked. “When I saw you risking your life to save my family… and you went down under those wolves…I realized that if I lost you, there’d be nothing left for me. And that’s when I knew.”

He cupped her face in his hands. “Te’sorthene.”

A smile lit up Ellie’s face. She threw her arms around his neck, laughter bubbling up and bursting out of her in a gloriously exultant sound. She took his face in her hands. “I’ve been fighting it like crazy, too! And have been completely miserable without you the last several weeks. I didn’t know that someone could become the center of my world like that so fast.”

The look of elation in Alex’s eyes took Ellie’s breath away. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. After a moment he gathered her into his arms and very gently laid his lips on hers in a kiss so achingly sweet, Ellie thought she might cry.

“You’re mine now, Ellie Aubrey,” he whispered in her ear as he ended the kiss and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Just as I am yours.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she whispered back.